Daniel Caltagirone interview: British actor on ‘Thangalaan,’ his big Tamil debut with Pa. Ranjith

The white British officer is a familiar, often clichéd figure in Indian cinema and narratives. However, Thangalaan, Pa. Ranjith’s ambitious new film, which releases on August 15, subverts this trope. Set during the British Raj, this fantasy/period/morality drama epic follows a tribal leader, Thangalaan, who aids a British general on a gold quest, invoking the anger of a mysterious sorceress.

Thangalaan has acclaimed British actor Daniel Caltagirone (52) playing General Clement. His filmography includes films like The Pianist, Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life and series like The Tudors and Medici: Masters of Florence. How does a Royal Shakespeare Company alumnus end up in the sweltering Chennai heat, playing a character that runs a high risk of becoming a tired cliché? Caltagirone, nods at the question.

Lee and behold

“It’s a mad, long story. My agent called me and said that there is this amazing Indian filmmaker, who wants to talk to you. Named Pa. Ranjith. I didn’t know who he was. We had this two-hour-long chat, and he pitched this vision to me: ‘the film is an adventure, but it’s fantastic, it’s period and there is drama in it.’ It was extraordinary. A film about greed, desire, redemption, family and how as humans, we definitely have much more in common than we think, irrespective of our cultures and backgrounds,” shares Caltagirone. “

Ranjith was clear that he didn’t want to hire any of the locals who can speak English, or a backpacker who can rattle off a few lines in English. He wanted someone with a big track record and could bring gravitas to the role. He didn’t want this one-dimensional character. I wouldn’t have done the film had it been that. Caltagirone hadn’t read the script by then, but he watched Madras, Kaala and Sarpatta Parambarai, educating himself in the oeuvre of Pa. Ranjith.

“He is a powerful social commentator, and I really liked his style; it reminded me of Spike Lee. The parallels between the two (Ranjith and Lee) are undeniable,” adds the actor. “Funnily enough, in one of the early days of the shoot, we were on the sets, Ranjith and I were chatting over coffee. I asked him which Western director did he like, and guess which director he named? Spike Lee!”

‘India feels like a second home’

Caltagirone’s karmic connection to India runs deep. He previously collaborated with Indian directors Tarsem Singh (The Fall, 2006) and Shekhar Kapur (The Four Feathers, 2002). Thangalaan marks his full-fledged Indian film debut. “I do believe in some karmic energy — energy is a scientific fact. We are drawn to places and people for various reasons. India feels like a second home.”

The actor spent a year in India working on Thangalaan. He is now a pro at even dealing with the heat; it doesn’t faze him. But his work was cut out for him as he went about prepping for playing General Clement. “I did my research first. Read up on Kolar Gold Fields and colonialism at that time. I looked at the officers of that time, who came to discover gold. You can do what you think is a representation of things and people of that time or you can understand the character and bring your own sensibility to it. That’s where it doesn’t become cliched,” says Caltagirone.

He chose to not make General Clement as very posh, suave and gentlemanly. Instead, he made him rough around the edges and gave him a backstory — a nod to his alma mater, the Royal Shakespeare Company. General Clement doesnt fit in this British society. He has been let in, reluctantly. “I made him a powerful animal. I made him heavy set — gained a stone and a half of weight. I had the image of a bull, who is calm in the fields, but when he is irritated, he charges at you. He is a man of few words. He does everything with his eyes. He is not a bad man, corrupted by his desire to find gold,” says the actor.

‘We just cancel people today’

His chosen launchpad in India is with one of the most vocal directors of our time. Ranjith is synonymous with cinema that’s politically charged. Did the film’s socio-political themes and commentary affect his work? “I did have a long conversation with Ranjith and his struggles. As an artist, you take that on board, and you soak in it. Then you get on the job and serve your character. I didn’t play Clement to serve a political message — that’s Ranjith’s concern. I have a healthy respect for most people’s political beliefs — within reason. I think we don’t talk to each other anymore, or listen to each other. We just cancel people today,” adds the actor.

So has it been, for Caltagirone, his big Indian debut adventure that is jump starting with an epic scale Tamil film? “I understand it’s Kollywood! I was just slightly better informed than most people about the country and the way it works as I had worked with Tarsem and Shekhar Kapur; we discussed cinema. But now I understand that it was Bollywood that we spoke about. But I now know that there are five distinct regions and their very distinct film industries,” says Caltagirone. He maintains that the bare bones of it all — camera, crew, script — are the same everywhere in the world. “It’s the cultural practices that make every film industry distinct in the world. In Europe one might have a glass of wine at lunch on a shoot. We can’t do that in UK/USA. India is very relaxed in many things. It’s very chaotic, but it’s controlled. Far more people, more voices. I like that I can do my own stunts here. I can improvise at a moment’s notice, and the entire cast goes along with it.”

Does he have plans to come back to India if he is offered more projects? “I have been asked this question a lot. I don’t know. Maybe. If an Indian director is casting me for a normal role, which has no bearing on the fact that I am British. A normal romantic lead, that will be mind-blowing. Until we do that, India can’t claim its place to be the most powerful film industry in the world. They are on the verge of it. They need to go truly international,” signs off Caltagirone.